


words left unread

by synaptic_static



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M, gratuitous usage of the seijoh locker room, jealous oikawa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-11 23:55:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29126055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/synaptic_static/pseuds/synaptic_static
Summary: Iwaizumi has a secret admirer. Oikawa is definitely not bothered by this.
Relationships: Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru
Comments: 14
Kudos: 139





	words left unread

**Author's Note:**

> written for [ALWY’s love letters contest](https://twitter.com/iwaoilifezine/status/1352070877823700993)! apologies if I screwed up the honorifics or anything about Japanese culture/schools. rated T due to a few swear words

After practice, Iwaizumi is normally the first one out of the locker room. Then he comes back in to yell at Oikawa for taking ten minutes (a perfectly reasonable amount of time) to fix his hair. 

Today, Oikawa’s ready to go and Iwaizumi is still sitting on the bench, staringat an envelope in his hands. 

“What’s that?” Oikawa plops down next to him. 

“Don’t know,” Iwaizumi frowns. “It was in my bag.” He opens it, unfolds the paper, and scans the words. Then his face turns pink and he shoves the letter back inside.

“Oh?” says Hanamaki. “What would make Iwaizumi blush?” 

“Maybe… a love letter?” offers Matsukawa. 

Iwaizumi doesn’t respond, which confirms their hypothesis. 

“I’m so proud!” Hanamaki clutches his hand to his heart.

“Our little Iwa-chan is finally growing up!” Matsukawa tries to ruffle his hair; Iwaizumi swats his hand away. 

“I’m older than both of you,” he hisses. 

Oikawa pushes his locker closed with more force than strictly necessary. He gets confession letters every week (in addition to stuffed animals, candy, and the occasional sappy poem). Why are they making such a big deal out of this? 

“Congratulations, Iwa-chan,” he coos. “Maybe you’ll catch up to me one day. You only have 52 more letters to go!” 

Oikawa doesn’t realize Iwaizumi’s grabbed a wet towel until he feels it crack across his back. He scoots away, and in his haste to escape, he overshoots the end of the bench and falls on his ass. Makki and Mattsun snicker without making any move to help their captain up. Traitors. “So violent!” he yelps. “Maybe this is why only one girl likes you.” He dodges the towel hurtling towards his face; it hits the wall behind him with a thump.

===

Oikawa’s loitering in the hallway when he sees the girl approaching him - a common occurrence. He knows most of his fangirls well enough to recognize their faces, but hers is unfamiliar. Maybe she’s been too shy to come up to him until now, or she’s a transfer student who’s only recently fallen in love with him. Whatever the case, he flashes her an encouraging smile. Instead of thrusting the envelope at him and scurrying away, though, she grips it tighter and peers around him. 

“Have you seen Iwaizumi-san?” she asks. 

His face must be doing something strange, because she takes a step back. “It’s not _mine_. I’m helping a friend.” 

He puts his smile back on. “I can give it to him after school.”

She squints at him, somehow not trusting his adorably innocent face, then checks her watch. “Fine.” The girl drops the letter into his outstretched palm and heads back in the direction she came from, elbowing anybody who doesn’t step aside in time. 

Oikawa turns the envelope over in his hands. The sticker sealing the flap is shaped like a cupcake and has a little smiling face. He glares at it. 

===

Iwaizumi apparently has an exam the next day, and he and Hanamaki are busy quizzing each other both before and after practice. Oikawa doesn’t want to interrupt them; the letter can wait until tomorrow.

Tomorrow arrives, and the team is preoccupied by a heated debate over whether a plant is an acceptable mascot. (Watari and Yahaba think it’s boring; Kunimi is surprisingly defensive of it.)

On the third day, Oikawa’s out of excuses. The letter sits untouched in the inner pocket of his bookbag. 

A week later, Oikawa emerges from one of the bathroom stalls to find the locker room empty. Judging by the squeaking and thumping noises coming from the gym, everyone else has already started warm-ups. He’s about to join them when he spots the envelope lying on the floor. _He shouldn’t see the third letter before the second_ , he reasons as he picks it up. He ignores the guilt curdling in his stomach. 

===

It’s lunchtime, and Matsukawa is laughing at one of Hanamaki’s terrible dad jokes when he suddenly stops, looking over Oikawa’s shoulder. Oikawa twists around to see a girl walking towards their table. _Another letter_ , Oikawa thinks, but as she gets closer, he sees that her hands are empty. She looks like she’s about to faint, but her voice is clear and steady.

“Iwaizumi-san,” she says. “I understand if you don’t return my feelings, but I wish you wouldn’t ignore me.” 

Iwaizumi’s brows scrunch together as Oikawa’s heart drops into his stomach. 

“Sorry,” Iwaizumi says. “What?” 

“You didn’t get my letters?” 

Oikawa doesn’t hear Iwaizumi’s response; he’s already walking away, blood pounding in his ears. He ends up in the courtyard. “I really fucked up, didn’t I?” he asks a nearby tree. The tree doesn’t respond. 

===

“Iwa-chan,” he says after practice that day, holding up the key to the gymnasium. Irihata and Mizoguchi trust Oikawa enough to let him lock up the gym when he wants to do extra practice. The coaches don’t need to know that his reasons for staying late today aren’t volleyball-related. 

Iwaizumi nods and pretends to rummage through his locker while the others finish changing and leave. When they’re alone, he gives Oikawa an expectant look. 

Oikawa takes a seat next to him, then pulls the envelopes out of his bag and drops them in Iwaizumi’s lap. He knows he should say something, offer some reasonable explanation for sabotaging his best friend’s love life, but all that comes out is “Sorry.” He stares down at his hands, clenched tight in his lap. 

“I’m not the one you should be apologizing to, dumbass. She asked me to meet her yesterday and waited half an hour for me to show up.” 

Sabotaging his best friend’s love life _and_ making a girl get stood up by her crush. He really is an asshole. 

“I’ll talk to her tomorrow.” 

“No, it’s fine.” Iwaizumi sighs. “She didn’t seem upset. It would probably make things worse if she knew.” 

Oikawa nods. “So when’s your date?” 

Iwaizumi looks at him like he’s grown a second head, or announced he’s giving up volleyball to pursue competitive ice dance. “What?” 

“When are you two going out?” 

“Why would I go out with her?” Now it’s Oikawa’s turn to stare. 

“She’s pretty. And she likes you.” 

“Oh, because you date all the pretty girls who like you?” 

“There are too many!” Oikawa protests. “I can’t show favoritism.” 

Iwaizumi groans. “You’re unbearable. None of them would agree if they knew about your personality.” 

They bicker some more before silence falls between them. 

“I really am sorry, you know,” Oikawa says. 

“I’m not mad at you. I just… I want to know why you did it.” 

Oikawa could come up with an excuse. But he’s been hiding his feelings for a long time: covering up his affection with teasing, resisting the urge to glance at Iwaizumi in case anyone else is watching. He doesn’t know if he wants to hide anymore. 

“I think you already know.” He braces himself for a _What do you mean?_ , or a _Wait, you mean-_. Iwaizumi probably wouldn’t be disgusted, but maybe- 

Oikawa jolts at the sensation of fingers on his jaw. Iwaizumi turns his head so that they’re facing each other. His eyes search Oikawa’s face, and Oikawa wonders how much he can see. 

“I think I do.” Before Oikawa can process his words, Iwaizumi presses his lips to Oikawa’s forehead. The kiss is so brief and gentle that he barely feels it, but heat spreads from the point of contact to the rest of his face. His brain feels fuzzy.

Iwaizumi is watching him, maybe waiting for a response, but Oikawa’s currently not capable of speech. Iwaizumi laughs and brushes a stray curl off his forehead. “Your hair looks awful.” 

_That_ breaks Oikawa out of his trance. He would have applied his usual products if he wasn’t a considerate friend who didn’t want to keep Iwaizumi waiting. “How- you’re just jealous!” he sputters. “I could be bald and I’d still be more handsome than you.” 

Iwaizumi punches him on the shoulder. Oikawa rubs the spot where his knuckles made contact. He’s smiling, he realizes, so hard his cheeks hurt. 

**Author's Note:**

> comments are always appreciated <3 (including concrit). you can find me on twitter [@setter_simp](https://twitter.com/setter_simp)


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